Summer movie highlights and premiere dates

Jay Gatsby, meet Tony Stark. The two of you should have a lot in common: immense wealth, beautiful mansions, and stylish suits that lend you special powers. And look at that — you’re both in 3-D.

Granted, the heroes of “The Great Gatsby” and “Iron Man Three” will probably never see their fictional universes collide, but here they are anyway: spearheading the onslaught of Movie Summer 2013. The “Iron Man” sequel opened last week, and Baz Luhrmann’s “Gatsby” leads the pack this weekend.

It’s the usual summer mix of sequels, remakes, and animated blockbusters. We’ll get the “final” chapter in the “Hangover” series, another sighting of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, and the latest installment of the “Fast &Furious” saga, which threatens to run until the end of time.

And speaking of the end of time, two different comedies predict Judgment Day, “The World’s End” and “This Is the End.” Meanwhile, Will Smith turns up after the apocalypse in “After Earth,” a film that presumably plays the destruction of the world without laughs.

Mixed into the fluff and special effects, there are a few literary titles to weave in. Along with F. Scott Fitzgerald and “Gatsby,” we’ll get some Shakespeare (Joss Whedon does “Much Ado About Nothing”), and Henry James is modernized (“What Maisie Knew”). And of course Adam Sandler stars in “Grown Ups 2,” based on the Philip Roth novel.

Just kidding about that last part; “Grown Ups 2” is another sequel. But this summer looks like a mix of old and new, with just enough indie releases and curveballs to keep it interesting. Here’s a stroll through the next months at the movies (dates are subject to change).